Protests over social media post: Academic activities suspended at two institutes in Srinagar

Srinagar: Academic activities were suspended at two colleges, including the National Institute of Technology (NIT), here on Thursday as a precautionary measure, a day after protests against a student's social media post spread to other institutes, officials said.

While officials of NIT-Srinagar declared a holiday for Thursday, Islamia College of Science and Commerce suspended all classworks and internal examinations scheduled for the day.

Protests were held at the NIT-Srinagar on Tuesday over a student's social media post allegedly hurting religious sentiments. The protesters demanded stringent action against the non-local student who has been sent home on leave.

The students blocked both the gates of the institution, located in the Nigeen area of the city, and raised slogans inside the campus.

After the protests, police registered a case and started an investigation. Police filed a case against the student for promoting religious enmity between communities.

Protests were also held at Amar Singh College and Islamia College here on Wednesday against the post, videos of which were shared by many social media users.

"The police received information about a protest by students at the NIT campus. Upon investigation, it was discovered that a student had posted objectionable content on social media, though the video was not the student's own, but taken from YouTube," Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kashmir, V K Birdi said on Tuesday.

Birdi said the content of the post has hurt the religious feelings of the people.  "The police have received a written complaint from the NIT registrar urging legal action. We have taken legal action under relevant sections of the law. The investigation is going on," the IGP had said.